Content Marketing: Concepts and Its Relevance in the Tourism Industry

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Content Marketing: Concepts and its Relevance in the Tourism Industry
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Content Marketing: Concepts and its Relevance in the Tourism
Industry
Pramita Gurjara, Rahul Pratap Singh Kauravb, K.S. Thakurc
aResearch Scholar, SOS in Tourism, Jiwaji University, Gwalior
bAssistant Professor¸ Prestige Institute of Gwalior
cProfessor, Jiwaji University, Gwalior
Introduction
With the advent of information technology especially the internet there has been a
shift in marketing strategies of companies from product oriented to customer
oriented strategies. The introduction of digital technology and the widespread of the
Internet have led to radical changes in the way firms meet the expectations and
interests of its stakeholders (Rancati, 2010; Wertime & Fenwick, 2008). Earlier
companies took care about the needs and preferences of the consumers mainly for
product development strategies but now the needs and preferences of consumers are
being included in the marketing strategies also. All thanks to digital media that has
enabled the flow of information to the consumers even faster. Digital media are any
media that are encoded in machine-readable formats (“Digital Media”, Technology
Brief, University of Guelph, September 2006). When digital media is used in
marketing, it becomes digital marketing, and when companies market its content
through digital media, it becomes digital content marketing.
Concept
Content marketing is a much broader term than it seems because actually, it is all
content which is being marketed whether through a traditional medium or any
digital medium. Information becomes a dominant element in the marketing
exchange (Rowley, 2008; Rancati Elisa, 2014). Content marketing is not a new
concept it was there even before the internet came in existence. The Internet has just
made it a buzzword in the modern marketing era. The digital dimension, in
particular, has given birth to terms such as digital content marketing which focuses
A R T I C L E I N F O
Keywords:
Content marketing
and tourism, digital
content marketing,
user-generated
content,
organisations
generated content
A B S T R A C T
Introduction of information technology have changed
the way organizations market their products, especially
with the advent of web 2.0 technologies the whole
scenario has been changed. This has given rise to the
concept of content marketing as it is the content which
is being marketed these days by the organizations
directly or indirectly. This paper attempts to put light
on the basic concept behind content marketing along
with the definitions. Content marketing has been in
use but still there is no classified structure found yet.
This paper attempts to give more clear insights about
what content marketing is all about and it also
classifies the various categories of content marketing.
As tourism industry is an information-based industry
content marketing has significant role to play that we
have discussed in this paper.
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3307713

Content Marketing: Concepts and its Relevance in the Tourism Industry
Available on SSRN-Elsevier
290
on the changes that technological innovation has produced on creation, delivery and
content (Rakic et al., 2014; Koiso-Kanttila, 2004; Rowley, 2008; Rancati Elisa, 2014
Content marketing can be classified into two phases or types on the basis of the time
period:
1. Traditional Content Marketing
2. Modern Content Marketing (digital content marketing)
Traditional Content Marketing
Traditional content marketing includes all forms of content marketing that were used
before the internet or various online technologies came into existence for e.g.
magazines, brochures, editorials, newspaper ads.
Modern Content Marketing
Modern content marketing can also be called “digital content marketing” as it is done
through digital media. Digital content marketing includes providing relevant content
to consumers through digital media sources like blogs, websites, videos, social media
posts, web pages, search engine optimization, review sites etc.
In traditional content marketing practices, companies directly tell about the product
or services they are selling and persuade to buy them whereas in digital content
marketing companies do not directly sell the product or services instead they provide
all the relevant and useful information to help them solve their problems. In this
way, companies create brand awareness.
Definitions
Although content marketing is not a new concept it has gain popularity in the digital
age. Therefore, definitions include the modern approach to content marketing.
Content marketing (CM) attracts potential consumers and increases their
engagement and empowerment (Kucuk & Krishnamurthy, 2007; Rancati Elisa, 2014)
through the creation, dissemination, and sharing of free content, and is relevant,
meaningful, valuable and able to inspire confidence in existing and potential
customers.
According to (Rowley 2008; Rancati Elisa, 2014) content marketing can be defined
as a management process where a firm identifies, analyze and satisfy customer
demand to gain profit with the use of digital content distributed through electronic
channels.
Content Marketing means to produce quality content, unique, significant, valuable,
dynamic and more relevant than its competitors’ competitors (Handley and
Chapman, 2010, 2011; Lieb, 2011; Jefferson and Tanton, 2013; Rose and Pulizzi,
2011; Rancati Elisa, 2014).
According to Gagnon, 2014; Pazeraite, & Repoviene, 2016), content used in content-
based marketing programs is defined as a base of substantive, reasonably objective
information, developed by or for a company.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 2015, “content marketing is the
marketing and Business Procedure for creating and distributing significant and
valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood
target customer - with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
Effective Content Marketing
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Content Marketing: Concepts and its Relevance in the Tourism Industry
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291
Content is a road by taking that consumers reach to the website or buy the product.
The key is organisations do not directly tell them to take that road, but they provide
content, the more clearly road defines the goals of the consumers the more likely they
will take that road. Content marketing is not merely providing information, but it is
equally essential that the information provided is relevant to the needs of the
consumers. Information to be sufficient it has to be quality information which should
be relevant, reliable, value adding and unique (Ružkevičius, Guseva, 2006; Chasser,
Wolfe,2010; Gagnon, 2014; Abel, 2014; Creamer, 2012; Schui- Nanni et al., 2014;
Pazeraite, & Repoviene., 2016 ). Reliability determines the correctness of information
whereas adequacy of information is determined by completeness (Chasser, Wolfe,
2010). Some Lithuanian authors (Ružkevičius, Guseva, 2006) perceive valuable
content as an ability of the given content to comply with the consumer’s aspirations,
goals, and interests. The unique content can draw not only the attention of
consumers but also spreads word of mouth about the company’s unique skills.
Unique content could be foreseen as a positioning tool of the company in order to
become a unique and desirable market participant in comparison to its competitors.
(Gagnon, 2014). In order to content marketing be effective an entertainment factor
can also be included to retain the consumers’ interest alive. A study prepared by J.
Berger and K. Milkman (2012) showed that positive content has a stronger viral
effect than a negative one. Nevertheless, deeper analysis showed that the content,
which has an emotional character (positive or negative), is more interesting to
customers, than the neutral content. A company has only ten seconds to attract
consumer attention to the offered content. Therefore, every possible way should be
used to tell the client why he needs the company (Berkley, 2010).
Review of Literature
Content marketing may seem a new concept but it has always been present in
marketing but not as separate concept. Its presence can be traced back from 1895
when “John Deere launched The Furrow magazine focusing on providing solutions to
farmers in order to make their work more profitable. Today, it is sold in 40 countries
and 12 different languages” (Kuenn, 2013). The content was not only provided in the
form of a magazine. Content marketing was done through Guide and Cookbook also.
In 1900, André Michelin with his brother Édouard published the first edition of the
Michelin Guide. At that time, there were less than 3000 cars in France, but the guide
was published in over 35000 copies. “This Guide, distributed for free to drivers,
contained much practical information on the use and repair of tires, the list of fuel
depots, hotels, city maps, a list of mechanics (there was less than 600 for all France),
etcIn 1904, Jell-O salesmen went door-to-door, distributing their cookbook for free
as a means of associating deserts with their product. Two years after, the company’s
sales rose to over $1 million.
Although the concept of content marketing was there, but there was no established
theory or definitions until online technologies were introduced. The term "content
marketing" was used as early as 1996 when John F. Oppedahl led a roundtable for
journalists at the American Society for Newspaper Editors. In 1998, Jerrell Jimerson
held the title of "director of online and content marketing" at Netscape. The digital
dimension, in particular, has led to the birth of terms such as digital CM (Rakic et al.,
2014; Koiso-Kanttila, 2004; Rowley, 2008) which focuses on the changes that
technological innovation has produced on creation, delivery and content
management. Social media marketing can be defined as using social media channels
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3307713

Content Marketing: Concepts and its Relevance in the Tourism Industry
Available on SSRN-Elsevier
292
to promote a company and its products (Barefoot & Szabo, 2010). Content marketing
is also known as story marketing (Sullivan, 2013) It enhances the purchasing process
by adding values to customers (Odden, 2013).
There are various media through which content can be disseminated to the target
consumers. Some of them are virtual communities (Illum, Ivanov, & Liang, 2010),
positions of social media in search engines (Xiang &Gretzel, 2010), and social media
adoption in national markets (Gretzel, Kang, & Lee, 2008) and social media impact
on destination branding strategies (Munar, 2011). One area of extraordinary internet
innovation over the past 2 years has been in user-generated content and peer-to-peer
applications variously known as Web 2.0 (O’Reilly, 2005). Consumers are active
participants and equal partners in these conversations who co-create value together
with marketers by exchanging resources and information (Vargo & Lusch, 2004).
Blogs tend to be interactive, and readers post comments (Pan et al. 2007; Cobanoglu
2006; Kelleher and Miller 2006; Ellion 2007; Reactive 2007). The activities of blogs
and bloggers have become known as the ‘‘blogosphere’’ (Carson 2008). Consumers
trusted more sites with reviews than professional guides and travel agencies
(eMarketer 2007) in Canada, Sweden, Austria, and New Zealand, for example, blogs
have been provided on official destination websites (Schmollgruber 2007;
Thraenhart 2007).
The Web has also been regarded as a threat to the power of organisations (Shih,
2009). For instance, the importance of destination organisations in marketing and
promotion may alter due to Internet-related transformations, even if their position is
often taken for granted (Cai, Gartner, & Munar, 2009; Morgan, Pritchard, & Pride,
2009; Munar, 2011). Internet has also challenged the role of intermediaries by
enabling the consumers to get directly engage with the suppliers (Buhalis & Law,
2008). Prior to web 2.0, internet worked in ‘read –only ‘format in which only one-
way flow of information was allowed and that was generally from organisations to
the consumers (Buhalis, 2013; Hay, Page & Barges, 2009). This two-way information
flow could become possible with the rise of social media technologies. Social media
allowed users to share their thoughts, opinions and pictures with others at anytime
and anywhere in fractions of time. Since tourism is an information-intensive
industry, social media is particularly relevant to this industry (Hays, Page & Buhalis,
2013; Gretzel et al., 2000, p.147; Wang, Quaechee, & Fesenmaier, 2002).
Table 1. A literature review of content marketing
Author (year)
Aim/ source
Description
Before the internet era
John Deere (1895)
The Furrow
magazine
focusing on providing
solutions to farmers in order
to make their work more
profitable
André Michelin,
Édouard (1900)
Michelin Guide
This Guide, distributed for
free to drivers, contained
much practical information
on the use and repair of tires,
the list of fuel depots, hotels,
city maps, a list of mechanics.
Jell-O (1904)
Cookbook
The salesmen went door-to-
door, distributing their
cookbook for free as a means
of associating deserts with
their product.
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Content Marketing: Concepts and its Relevance in the Tourism Industry
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293
After the
introduction
of the
internet
John F.Oppedahl
(1996)
Led a roundtable for
journalists at the
American Society for
Newspaper Editors
The term "content marketing"
was used for the first time.
Jerrell Jimerson
(1998)
Netscape
Held the title of "director of
online and content
marketing" at Netscape
(Rakic et al. (2014),
Koiso-Kanttila
(2004),
Rowley(2008)
Rancati Elisa, N. G.
(2014)
Gave birth to the
terms such as digital
content marketing
The term focuses on the
changes that technological
innovation has produced on
creation, delivery and content
management
Barefoot & Szabo,
(2010), Gretzel, U., &
Yoo, K. H., (2013)
Used the term
“Social media
marketing”
Social media marketing can
be defined as using social
media channels to promote a
company and its products
Sullivan (2013)
Defined content
marketing
Content marketing is also
known as storytelling
marketing
Gretzel, Kang, & Lee
(2008),
Illum, Ivanov, &
Liang (2010),
Xiang &Gretzel
(2010),
Munar (2011)
Given various media
through which
content can be
disseminated to the
target consumers.
Social media adoption in
national markets, virtual
communities, positions of
social media in search
engines, social media impact
on destination branding
strategies.
Introduction
of web 2.0
technologies
O’Reilly (2005)
Mentioned about
extraordinary
internet innovation
called web 2.0
User-generated content and
peer-to-peer applications
variously known as Web 2.0
Carson (2008)
Used the term
“blogosphere.”
The activities of blogs and
bloggers have become known
as the blogosphere.’’
Cai, Gartner, &
Munar( 2009);
Morgan, Pritchard, &
Pride (2009); Munar
(2011).
Power of
organisations
reducing
Focused on the changing role
of destination organisations
due to Internet-related
transformations
Hays, Page & Buhalis
(2013); Gretzel et al.
(2000), p.147;
Wang,Quaechee, &
Fesenmaier (2002 ).
Focused on the role
of social media in
Tourism industry.
The one-way flow of
information i.e. “read-only”
format changed into two-way
flow of information allowing
tourism consumers to share
their thoughts, opinions and
pictures with others about any
destination.
Content Marketing in Tourism Industry
Maximum online transactions are done in the tourism industry (Werthner and Ricci
2004) which shows how much digitisation has been accepted in this industry. The
tourism industry is a service-based industry which is a combination of several other
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294
industries like hotel industry, transport industry etc. These industries need to
interact in order to provide a better tourism experience. Information is considered
the lifeblood of the tourism industry. Therefore, it is important to use information
technology effectively (Buhalis, 1998). In the age of digital media, there has been a
shift in the purchasing patterns of consumers in the tourism industry. Evolution of
web technologies has enabled travellers with more content which has been a
significant factor in changing patterns of tourist purchase and travel experience
behaviour (Munar & Jacobsen, 2013). Not only the purchasing behaviour but the
decision-making process of consumers in the tourism industry has also been
changed. Now consumers have more information available on just one click.
Therefore, they no more rely only on the tourist organisations for information about
any destination. Since tourism is an information-intensive industry, social media is
particularly relevant to this industry (Hays, Page & Buhalis, 2013; Gretzel et al.,
2000, p.147; Wang, Quaechee, & Fesenmaier, 2002). Social media allowed tourism
consumers to look for information and reviews from their sources instead relying
only on the organisations. In this regard personal recommendation sites have been
very influential (Hays, Page & Buhalis, 2013; Buhalis, 1998; Gretzel et al., 2000;
Litvin, Goldsmith & Pan, 2008). Hence it becomes critical for tourism organisations
to adopt social media in their marketing strategies and provide useful content to
their consumers (Hays, Page & Buhalis, 2013; Gretzel et al., 2000; Hjalager, 2010;
Ruzic &Bilas, 2010; Schegg et al., 2008). The tourism industry is based on intangible
products mostly as it is based on selling experiences.
Earlier this intangible factor was a challenge as tourism products cannot be shown to
the consumers as in other industries. They cannot try them out before buying and
this created a risk factor in the minds of consumers. Digital media technologies have
reduced that risk up to a much significant level as it has enabled consumers with
broad content about tourist destinations and services provided there. Digital content
marketing has played a significant role in the tourism industry. Content marketing is
especially important in the tourism industry as it is the content only (written, audio
or visual) that is the deciding factor about any destination. There is a lot of content
available on the digital media that can be used for marketing.
Based on its origin, content can be classified into two forms:
1) User-generated content 2) Organisation generated content
User-Generated Content: The text, pictures, videos, audio files, etc. created and
shared through social media are called user-generated contents (UGC) (Gillin, 2007).
In this corporate users have also been included but in the context of this paper user
only consumers have been included. There are virtual communities, which enable
people to share their experiences with others all over the world (Waldhör, 2007).
Review sites like TripAdvisor provide an opportunity to the consumers to share their
travel experiences and also rate the destinations and the services provided there. As
this content is made available by the travel consumers, they influence the consumers
Content
User Generated
Content
Organisation Generated
Content
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who are planning for a trip. Consumers are active participants and equal partners in
these conversations who co-create value together with marketers by exchanging
resources and information (Vargo & Lusch, 2004). The sharing of experiences
through social media has also been considered as an integral part of tourism
experiences (Gretzel et al., 2011).
Organisation Generated Content: organisation generated content includes the
content which is made available by organizations on the digital media platforms
directly or indirectly (blogs, forums, websites, web pages, review sites etc.). Directly
they provide content on their websites and portals. Organizations may be indirectly
involving in generating content about their products by writing blogs by the
members of the organization, operating virtual community sources etc. VCs are in
most cases operated by organizations, which optimize their content with regard to
the different search engines. In addition, features like feeds, trackbacks, cross-
linking, etc. make those Web sites much more powerful tools. (Waldhör, 2007).
Content is available in abundance in this digital age the need is how organizations
market that content in order to gain the trust and loyalty of consumers. As tourism
products are intangible in nature by providing relevant, adequate and valuable
content some degree of tangibility can be given to the products which can be done by
employing effective content marketing strategies. Instead of focusing on tangible
resources, embedded value, and transactions, fully embraces intangible resources,
co-creation of value, and relationships (Vargo & Lusch, 2004).
Conclusions
In general, “content marketing is a marketing practice in which consumers are not
directly persuaded to buy a product or service instead valuable content in the form of
solution to the issues faced by consumers provided which in turn create the
awareness about the product or service through media which may or may not be
digital.”
When content marketing is done through digital media it is called digital content
marketing which is in vogue these days.
Content marketing can be broadly classified into two types first, is traditional content
marketing that was mainly used before the digital age and second, is modern content
marketing which also called digital content marketing that is being presently used
through various forms of digital media.
Content marketing especially digital content marketing plays a pivotal role in the
tourism industry. Content is created through two sources in the tourism industry one
is by users (consumers) and second is by organizations (tourist organizations).
Tourism products are often seen as status symbols and important elements of
identity construction (Lee et al., 2009). Therefore, consumers are very much
motivated towards sharing their travel experiences through various media like blogs,
forums, videos, reviews etc. which create user-generated content. Through these
media, consumers have become co-creators of content which earlier only
organizations used to be. There was a one-way flow of content from organizations to
consumers but now there is two-way content creation.
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Consumers are not only co-creator but in a way, they have become co-marketers as
they can promote a particular brand by posting or reviewing about it on digital
media.
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